Mexico City Travel Guide

Sculpture of Heydar Aliyev Plagues Mexico City

The statue of former president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, also happens to be a monument to an ex-KGB chief as he's one in the same. Likewise, Aliyev's corruption and poor human rights record are another stain on the otherwise inspiring Reforma Boulevard in Mexico City. Plans are currently underway to remove (or just relocate) the statue but it seems there was much oversight during the planning stages.

That big, hulking statue of the Caucasian strongman has got to go.

Such was the recommendation Friday of a special committee appointed to resolve one of the odder controversies to beset this capital. At issue: the city government’s decision to allow Azerbaijan to erect a monument to its late president, Heydar Aliyev, on the iconic Reforma Boulevard, prime real estate in the sprawling megalopolis.

The bronze and marble statue generated protests and a running debate in the media. Critics said a figure of Aliyev’s tarnished history did not deserve a star turn on Reforma, especially among a stretch of leafy parks where monuments have long honored the likes of Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln.